Woman of the Hour (16 page)

I had forgotten to check out the venue or to ask Harriet about it.

‘I’ll let you know tomorrow for sure,’ I said.

This drew a disgusted sigh from her.

‘I need to let Paige know,’ she said.

‘Tomorrow, I promise.’

I must remember to do this tomorrow.

Sitting up in bed, I was exhausted but my mind was active and I wasn’t ready to sleep. It was likely that Julius was still furious with me for defying him but the sponsor had loved the OB. When it works, an outside broadcast is live TV at its best and I loved the camaraderie it had created among those of us who had been there. Ziggy had risen to the occasion and showed initiative and I hoped this would build her confidence. I switched my bedside lamp off and stretched out. Simon and Molly had both been commended for their stories and now Molly would stay on at StoryWorld.

StoryWorld TV station, London Bridge

Our flagship interview this morning was with a former Labour cabinet member, an eminent man who had come in to promote his memoirs. Fizzy had recovered from her stomach bug and was back on the sofa. She went in hard almost from the top.

‘We’ve heard from an impeccable source that your wife recently had private health care?’

‘I’m not here to talk about my wife’s health,’ he said, glaring at her.

‘We heard it was a knee replacement operation,’ Fizzy persisted.

‘She was in a lot of pain,’ he said through gritted teeth.

‘But private health care? Doesn’t your party argue that that is paying to jump the queue?’

‘I’m not here to talk about this.’

He held up his book in front of him as if it was a shield which could protect him from her line of questioning.

‘Your constituents have to wait, no matter how much pain...’ Fizzy was saying as he stood up, tore the mic from his jacket and walked out of the studio without another word. I raced out of the gallery and saw him as he emerged from the studio red-faced and in a fury. I tried to speak to him but his minder was at his side and she hissed at me: ‘What a set-up! You’ll be hearing from us.’

I trailed behind them as they headed for the exit but neither of them would accept my apologies or even speak to me. I knew this would cause a media feeding frenzy. The moment the show was over I followed Fizzy to her dressing room. I rarely challenge her straight after a show but today was different.

‘Why on earth did you go in so hard on him?’

Fizzy looked startled but Julius strode in at that exact moment and said: ‘Brilliant, Fizzy. Great job. We’ll be all over the tabloids.’

‘It’s
not
brilliant at all!’ I said.

He had briefed her to do it, of course. She would never have gone in so hard without encouragement from Julius. No doubt he had got the story from some pinstripe-suited friend of his. But I would be the one who would have to stay late to deal with the fallout. The clip of the politician pulling off the mic and marching out of our studio had gone viral. Social media and the tabloids love nothing better than a good old-fashioned spat. I called the publisher to apologise and they were icy cold with me because the memoir had barely been mentioned. As for Twitter, the station was being castigated for showing political bias or praised for showing balls, depending on the political persuasion of the tweeter. I was still taking calls about it at nine p.m.

Earlier I had called Flo at home and explained I was going to be late. Janis had to leave at seven and Flo would be on her own.

‘I’m going to order a taxi for you, darling, and you can do your homework here.’

Usually she likes coming to the station and getting a snack from the Hub.

‘No need, Mum. I can go over to Paige’s.’

‘Are you sure?’

I wasn’t keen on her doing that but I was under too much pressure to argue. It was nearly ten when I decided I could leave the station. My shoulders and neck were rigid with the tension I’d been holding in all day. I stood in front of my mirror and shrugged my shoulders up and down several times to release the tightness. I headed for the ladies’ toilet and as I walked in I heard a woman sobbing behind a locked cubicle door. Nearly everyone had gone for the night and I wondered if it was one of the cleaners. I wanted to be out of there so much but there was something about the quality of the crying that disturbed me. I tapped on the door and asked if I could help. The person stopped mid-sob. Slowly the door opened and Harriet came out of the cubicle. She was a mess, with mascara smudged under her eyes and her lips had that swollen quality you get after a long bout of crying.

‘Harriet! What’s wrong?’

She went over to the handbasin and splashed cold water on her face. There were no paper towels left and she looked around and went to get a piece of toilet paper to wipe her face.

‘Harriet?’

Finally, she looked at me.

‘What’s happened?’

‘Julius Jones assaulted me. Sexually assaulted me.’

I was stunned. We both stood there in shocked silence looking at each other for a long moment. Then I took her to my office and got her to sit down. She slumped onto the sofa and was trembling violently. I poured her a glass of water and sat down next to her and my hands were shaking too. She sipped at the water and hiccoughed a couple of times.

‘This happened tonight?’

She put her glass down on the floor and a ragged sigh escaped from deep within her.

‘Yes.’

‘Here in this building?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where did this happen?’

‘In one of the edit suites,’ she said in a tiny voice. She wasn’t looking at me.

I felt sick even thinking about it. We don’t have a dedicated human resources person at StoryWorld. Any problems on staff welfare fall to our operations director Tim Cooper.

‘I better call our operations director,’ I said gently.

‘No!’ Harriet leapt to her feet, kicking over the glass in the process, and water leaked onto the floor.

‘You’re terribly upset. But we must do this right and I must report it.’

‘You’re not to tell him!’

She didn’t look upset now, she looked furious, and the rapid change in her demeanour was unnerving.

‘But this is so serious and—’

‘I won’t have them talking about me.
I won’t!
I told you but if you tell anyone else I’ll kill myself.’

She said those exact words. Then she ran out of my office, hurled herself down the stairs and sprinted out of the station. I gave chase but by the time I got outside there was no sign of her in any direction. I went back inside and the security guard looked at me curiously. He had seen Harriet fly out of the building.

‘Staff troubles?’ he asked.

‘Can you call me a cab straight away, please?’ I said.

I sensed his eyes following me as I walked up the stairs to get my stuff. I looked down towards Julius’s office and it was in darkness. Apart from the security guard the building was empty.

I have never had to deal with anything like this before and sitting in the back of the cab I realised I had mishandled it. Aren’t you supposed to get a victim of sexual assault checked by a doctor? And wasn’t it my duty to report an accusation like this immediately? But Harriet said I must say nothing. I was so anxious about her. She had looked almost deranged when I said I needed to report it. I rang her mobile twice but it went to voicemail. I was also worrying about what Florence might be up to at Paige’s house at this late hour. I felt I would explode if anything else stressful happened to me.

Chalk Farm flat, 11.15 p.m.

The moment I got in I checked on Flo’s room and she was lying in bed asleep. I stood looking down at her face, my sweet innocent girl, then crept out of the room closing the door softly behind me. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep. I made a pot of tea and sat at my kitchen table and called Fenton, always my port in a storm.

She listened and understood the significance of it at once, remembering another call I’d made to her seven years before.

‘It brought back memories of that night, you know...’

‘Of course it would,’ Fenton said.

‘I felt sickened but you know the first thought I had? That maybe I had led him on and maybe she had too because she’s been hovering around him all the time and that thought makes me feel so bad.’

‘You did not lead him on and even if she did that is no justification for an assault.’

‘I know it isn’t. I feel a total cow. I’ve never liked Harriet but I need to remember she’s a young girl and I have a duty of care to her and...’

I had started to cry and couldn’t say any more.

‘Let those tears out,’ Fenton said in her lovely warm voice, which made me cry even harder.

‘I think of Flo and of all the predatory men out there and how am I ever going to protect her?’ I gulped.

‘You’re doing a very good job.’

‘But what do I do about Harriet? She’s forbidden me to say anything.’

‘You need to take legal advice. I know a good woman who specialises in cases like this. Take this number down and call her first thing.’

‘I will. I keep trying Harriet on her mobile but she’s not picking up.’

‘Then there’s nothing you can do till tomorrow, is there, sweetheart?’

‘But she won’t do anything silly, will she? She went from tears to rage in an instant and she looked so strange. I’m worried she might do something, you know... dangerous.’

‘Kill herself?’

‘I know it sounds melodramatic but she said she’d kill herself if I said anything about it to anyone.’

‘Leave it for tonight, love. You’re feeling anxious but I’m sure she won’t do anything.’

I walked around the flat straightening things. I emptied the dishwasher and dried the bottom of the cups before putting them away in the cupboard. I watered the plants on the window sill. It was nearly one but I knew I would not be able to sleep because the incident with Julius seven years ago kept flashing into my mind as a series of vivid images. The moment he had slammed me against the wall was the most vivid of all. I checked on Flo once more and she slept on peacefully. I bent down and kissed her downy cheek and made myself go to bed. I knew tomorrow was going to be a very difficult day.

StoryWorld TV station, London Bridge

I was in early and feeling wrung out. I had left the flat before Flo was up. Her school is fifteen minutes away and she leaves it late to fling on her clothes and walk to school with Rosie, her classmate. If only she would spend more time with Rosie, who has two younger brothers, a sensible mum and the added attraction of a dog. Flo used to hang out at their house all the time but she’s seen less of Rosie recently. It’s the superior attraction of Paige at work. I gave a sharp knock on her door before I left and popped my head round the door.

‘I’m getting up,’ she said in a drowsy voice.

‘I’ve got to get in early. Your lunch money’s on the table. See you later, sweets.’

As soon as I was behind my desk with the door closed I rang the lawyer whose number Fenton had given me. Her phone went to answer-machine and stated that her hours were from eight a.m. so I walked downstairs and spotted Julius entering the building. I rushed into the Hub to get away from him. Ten minutes later I slipped into the gallery to watch Fizzy opening the show. I told the director I was handing over to him. It was rare for me to miss the live transmission.

‘Everything OK?’ he asked.

‘I’ve got to make a phone call that can’t wait,’ I said.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you.’

When I got through to the lawyer she said it would be better for us to have a face to face meeting but I pressed her to give me advice over the phone, said I was happy to pay for her time but I needed guidance at once. I repeated what Harriet had said to me last night but gave no names.

‘What alarmed me the most was her saying she’d kill herself if I reported the incident.’

‘And have you said anything to anyone?’

‘No I haven’t,’ I said, thinking that Fenton didn’t count. She was the most honourable person in the world.

‘Good, because you have a duty of confidentiality here. Under no circumstances must you confront the accused man. That would be a breach of confidentiality and would muddy the waters of any future action.’

‘I have no intention of confronting him! I want to know what I should do, what’s the right thing to do.’

‘You must reassure your employee this is entirely confidential until she makes a formal complaint. Sexual assault is a criminal act and you should encourage her to report it to the police. The Metropolitan Police has a specialist unit called Sapphire that deals with rape and sexual assault. It would be worth you looking it up. There’s a lot of guidance on their site.’

I wrote down the details she gave me.

‘I’ll do that.’

‘Tell your employee nothing can happen until she makes that formal complaint to the police.’

‘OK.’

‘It’s also a good idea to note down what she said last night, as precisely as you can, as an aide-memoire for your eyes only. Do this straight away. It’s so easy to forget exactly what is said in these situations.’

‘And what should I do about her today? She’s not answering her phone. Should I go round to her house?’

‘I would advise against you doing that. I suggest you tell her to take the day off but that you will need to speak to her soon.’

I thanked her and she said she was available for further advice and would invoice me. As I put the phone down I realised I would have to pay for this legal advice personally. I couldn’t claim it as a work expense.

I started an email to my home address on everything that had happened last night. Outside the office I saw Simon arrive at his desk and pull his rucksack off. He looked over at me as if to come in but I shook my head. I noted down the words Harriet had used. She had given me few details of what had happened but she had said that the assault took place in an edit suite downstairs. I noted down the time I found her in the Ladies’ cubicle and how she had clearly been crying for a long time. I wrote that I hadn’t seen Julius in the building after about seven-thirty that evening, but I was stuck in my office fielding calls from the media and he could have been in the building. I described how Harriet had reacted so dramatically when I said I should report the assault to our operations director and how she had run out. I dated the document, sent it to my home email and deleted it off the StoryWorld system at once. Then I called Harriet again. Her phone went straight to voicemail so I left a message saying she should take the day off and I reassured her I had spoken to no one about what she had told me. I ended by saying please call me as soon as she felt strong enough to do so.